Sundays are wine adventure days for us. We typically invite a few friends to join us as we expand their horizons of the NC wine scene. Today we were joined by our friend Susan.
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Today we made our way to a winery that just opened their tasting room earlier in the week. Herrera Vineyards, located just outside Dobson, NC offers a winery with a fantastic setting as well as a restaurant with a full lunch and dinner menu. Our group of three decided to order some lunch and enjoy a full sampling of their wines. The wine tastings are conducted either at the bar or table-side. Since we got a table for lunch, we ended up with a seated tasting. Their wine list starts with a Dry Riesling, moves into a rosé and a few heavier reds, and then finishes on the slightly sweeter side. All of the wines were very tasty, however we did have a few favorites. The Dry Riesling was exceptionally light with hints of honeysuckle and pear. The rosé was made primarily of Malbec and Tannat with a splash of Riesling. This combination created a wine that was dry, full of strawberry notes, and had a great acidic finish. Our overall favorite was the 2011 Tannat single varietal. This was a full-bodied wine with hints of cherries and pepper spice finishing with smooth vanilla. The wines complemented the food nicely. We decided on a bottle of the rosé to enjoy with the rest of lunch and finished the bottle on their patio. For our first visit, we were quite impressed.
After soaking in the sun on the patio, we decided to move on. Since we were near Mount Airy, we made our way to Old North State Winery, located right in the historic downtown section. The downtown setting is quite unique with a deli bar and a restaurant. They offer two wine tastings (dry and sweet) as well as a beer tasting. Of course we went for the dry wine tasting. Our favorites were the Spring House (a Chardonnay, Viognier, Riesling blend) and the Restless Soul (Malbec, Tannat, and Cabernet Sauvignon). Both were complex; the white offering a hint of butterscotch and coconut, while the red offered full flavors of dried fruits and cherries.
After finishing up we decided to make our way back south. On the way we made a last-minute decision to stop at Medaloni Cellars. The weather was nice (at the moment) and we had a gorgeous sunset to watch, so we figured enjoying a glass of the Angel Oak Chardonnay would be fitting. The wine was crisp and lush with delicate pear and apple. The wine is well-balanced with a delightfully toast and oak finish. As we basked in the sunset on their spacious porch, a cloud floated over the winery. Not soon after, the cloud let loose its entire stash of water and poured over everything in sight. Luckily we were able to dash inside and grab a seat on a couch where we could still watch the sunset in the distance. A near perfect ending to an eventful day.
